National and provincial conferences agree to work together

The first National Provincial Summit met Nov. 17 in Gatineau, Que., seeking clarity between national and provincial MB conferences. Staff and board representatives gathered to develop partnership strategies in order to better assist local congregations.

For a number of years, lack of communication between the two conference levels has meant uncertainty about ministry responsibility and jurisdiction. This has resulted in overlap between provincial and national initiatives, confusion for churches, and uncertainty about funding.

David Wiebe and Frank Wiens compare notes.

Summit delegates agreed to improve communication and interaction with one another to ensure national board decisions would be relevant to both individual churches and provincial conferences. As well, staff agreed to encourage diversity in church membership, communication, and decision-making.

David Wiebe, executive director of the Canadian conference, said the focus of national and provincial staff is to “become like Christ, understand his mission, and become flexible in how they do ministry.”

He also said there’s an urgent need for collaboration between national and provincial structures in order to cultivate the gifts of apostle, prophet, and evangelist anew in the MB conference. These gifts, said Wiebe, will catalyze new ways to accomplish our mission.

—LK, with files from CCMBC